Cape Coast is a remarkably conserved historical site situated on Ghana’s southern coast. It is a beautiful castle that attracts masses of tourists every year. Underneath its beauty however lies a dark history that is worth preserving and understanding such that whatever happened back then remains in the past. The reality of what took place in this castle centuries ago is a terrifying experience. Thousands of slaves were kept in this place waiting to be shipped across the Atlantic. They were sold to countries such as the Caribbean, South America, and the U.S. among other countries. Terror and death The slaves were kept in dungeons that were referred to as “slave holes” by the British. Sadly those places essentially had no ventilation, they had no windows yet they held hundreds of slaves. As many as 1,500 slaves (two-thirds of whom were male) were held in the castle dungeons at any one time. In their quarters, slaves were basically separated by gender but were always crammed in small rooms with floors covered in human waste. They were beaten and tortured, and many succumbed to death. Diseases like malaria and yellow fever were common under such wretched conditions. The grimy dark dungeons whispered fear and hopelessness and it is in these holes that men, women and children were confined. They were treated inhumanely. Misery and terror became a part of them to the point where death meant more to them than survival. The dungeons were undoubtedly places of terror, death and darkness. The basement of this commanding fortress was often the last memory slaves had of their homeland before they were shipped off across the Atlantic, and this marked the beginning of their journey. Memories are still fresh for those who visit the historical site. They refer to it as an emotionally draining but necessary experience for the place holds raw history. Door of no return One part of Cape Coast Castle that was as horrifying was the “Door of No Return.” This was the route that led slaves out of the castle and onto the ships setting off on the Middle Passage. They were sailed off with no hope of returning and neither knowing where they were headed to nor what it is they were going to do. It must have been a horrifying experience for them, leaving their families behind. They were headed for demise. Journeys would last for months and many lost their lives in the process. An estimated 15 percent of slaves died aboard en-route. Cape Coast Castle was a way station in history’s largest darkest and forced human migration. Some tourists describe it as the most indescribable place they have ever been; others are lost for words for the historic reality of this location. It is too frightening but it is all true. Touring this castle can serve as an enlightening and reminiscent journey. The true horrors of the captivity and enslavement of innocent people is vividly and safely kept in this place. Restoration The castle was first restored in the 1920s by the British Public Works Department. In 1957, when Ghana became independent, the castle came under the care of the Ghana Museums and Monuments Board (GMMB). In the early 1990s the building was restored by the Ghanaian Government, with funds from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), United States Agency for International Development (USAID), with technical assistance from the Smithsonian Institution and other NGOs. The Cape Coast Castle, and other forts and castles in Ghana, are included on the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) World Heritage List. The British formally declared the slave trade illegal in 1807, though Cape Coast Castle remained their local headquarters on the Gold Coast until 1877. The British Public Works Department later restored the premises in 1920s, and retained ownership right up until Ghana’s independence in 1957, at which point the castle came under the purview of the Ghana Museums and Monuments Board. Though the remains of other slave castles exist along the former Gold Coast, Cape Coast Castle is one of the most well restored and well known. It is well worth a visit to remind each of us of the many corners of the globe involved in the former slave trade.
